


A Dream of Christmas

by Augustus



Category: The Brittas Empire
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-22
Updated: 2004-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 06:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1637276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augustus/pseuds/Augustus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brittas has a dream: a dream of Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Dream of Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Written for skitz

 

 

'Come on, people. Gather round!'

Laura took another canap from the table and followed her workmates into the centre of the room, ignoring the grumbling that surrounded her on all sides. She smoothed down her slacks as she joined the ragged cluster that was forming around Brittas, surreptitiously licking a few flakes of pastry from her fingers.

Brittas waited until everyone had gathered before beginning to speak, looking around at each of his staff members in turn. 'Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for coming here tonight,' he began. 'I know that it was rather short notice, and that some of you might have had other plans for Christmas Eve, but I think it's important for staff to bond together, especially at this time of year. And, of course, it pays to remember that not all of us have loving partners or families to return to at the end of the evening. Take Carole for instance!' He turned to smile encouragingly at the woman in question. 'Without our friendship, Carole would undoubtedly be spending Christmas Eve alone, with only a crying baby to keep her company.'

Laura silently wrapped an arm around Carole's shoulders as Brittas continued, oblivious to the fresh tears that were forming in Carole's eyes.

'I know it's been a hard year for some of you. Diana's mother was killed in that horrific car accident--' (One of the after-school casuals ran from the room, sobbing into her handkerchief.) '--and David, of course, had that nasty business with the social disease he caught while on holiday in Spain.' (The employees on either side of David moved a little further away as he glared at Brittas.) 'But there are things that we can be thankful about too, which is what tonight's all about.'

'I thought it was about Christmas,' Julie interjected.

'That too, Julie, that too.' Brittas smiled indulgently at her. 'I have a dream, you see, Julie. A dream of Christmas. A dream not only of a world where everyone is fit and healthy and understands the importance of exercise, but of--'

'That's all very well, but when are we going to open the Secret Santa presents?' Tim interrupted.

'Don't be so impatient, Tim. There's more to Christmas than presents, after all.'

'I don't see *what*,' Tim muttered under his breath to Gavin, who was standing next to him as usual.

'I think I might have to get someone else to open my present for me, Mr Brittas.' Colin raised a bandaged hand in the air. 'I'm trying a new poultice, you see, and I think my skin must be reacting to the St John's Wort, because it's falling off in great strips whenever my hand comes into contact with the air.'

Brittas looked a little nauseous as he replied. 'I'm sure Linda would be happy to do that for you, Colin.'

Linda managed a weak smile.

'We'll open the presents at the end of the evening,' Brittas continued. 'That way, whoever receives that cheap bottle of perfume I saw Gavin buying at Tesco yesterday will be able to wash it off as soon as they get home.'

Gavin looked down at his feet.

'Perfume? That's a little personal, isn't it?' Tim hissed from Laura's right.

'Well, what else was I supposed to get?' Gavin met Tim's eyes for a second before directing his gaze back towards the floor. 'I'm not exactly an expert on girls, you know.'

Smiling a little, Laura turned her attention back to Brittas, who was busy trying to explain to Julie that he had thought it best not to allow dates to attend the Christmas party, because 'how would Carole feel if she were the only one here without a partner?'

Digging around in her handbag, Laura found a spare tissue for Carole, whose tears had begun again, and showed no sign of slowing in the near future.

'Well, if we're not going to hand out the presents, and you're still insisting that we're not supposed to drink to pass the time, what exactly do you expect us to do for the next three hours?' Julie demanded, hands on hips.

'Talk to one another,' Brittas answered, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'Get to know each other a little better--after all, we're all people as well as employees--and perhaps even play a few party games to lighten the mood.'

'Oh God, anything but Trivial Pursuit,' Tim moaned, burying his face in Gavin's shoulder.

'I was thinking more along the lines of a few get-to-know-you games,' Brittas replied, undeterred. 'Charades, perhaps. Or, even better, Sardines.'

'How about Spin the Bottle?' Julie looked even more unimpressed than usual.

Brittas shook his head, smiling condescendingly. 'I hardly think that's appropriate, now, is it, Julie? And while that sort of thing might be amusing for a bachelor such as Gavin--' (Gavin opened his mouth as though to argue, but quickly closed it again without comment.) '--it's hardly appropriate for a married man such as myself,' he concluded. 'Sardines it is, then. Who would like to volunteer to be the first to hide?'

His question was met by an uncomfortable moment of silence, as everyone stared at the floor, hoping to avoid being deemed a volunteer. Laura felt bad for Brittas, but not bad enough to put her own name forward. Surely he would realise from the lack of enthusiasm that his staff weren't in the mood for games.

'Well aren't *you* a selfless lot,' Brittas said finally, when it had become very clear that no one was going to speak. 'Not one of you is willing to put your hand up for the best role, because that would mean everyone else would miss out. I'm impressed. That's just the sort of behaviour I'd hope to see from a Leisure Centre employee--although it means that we still don't know who will be first to hide.'

'Why don't *you* do it?' Tim suggested suddenly.

Gavin shot him a confused look. 'Don't encourage him,' he muttered.

'Trust me,' Tim replied, his own voice not much louder than a whisper.

'Of *course*,' Brittas said loudly, shaking his head. 'Why didn't I think of that myself? Now someone count to one hundred and I'll hide somewhere in the Leisure Centre. Let's see if I can beat my old record of one hour and twenty-seven minutes.'

'Are you sure this is a good idea?' Laura asked, a little worried by the devilish grin on Tim's face.

'Don't be silly, Laura!' Brittas smiled broadly. 'Whatever could go wrong?'

* * *

Laura heard a loud burst of laughter coming from one of the squash courts as she passed by it on her search for Brittas. The door was closed, but she was fairly sure that it was Julie's voice she heard exclaim 'Chins up!' before the laughter was lost in a clink of glasses. At least someone was enjoying the party, she thought, moving on towards the gymnasium.

After checking under the pommel horse and behind a safety mat that was propped on its side against the beam, Laura moved towards the large storage cupboard that stood against the wall at the other side of the gym. It was surrounded by medicine balls, volleyball nets and a couple of broken table tennis bats--presumably souvenirs of Brittas's first day at the Leisure Centre--all of which were usually housed *inside* the cupboard.

Shaking her head, Laura moved to pull open the double doors. Inside, Brittas sat with his back to the rear of the cupboard, his knees pulled up towards his chest. 'Twenty-four minutes and sixteen seconds,' he announced, tapping the glass face of his watch. 'Not bad, not bad at all. Now climb inside and close the door before anyone else spots us.'

'They're not coming.'

Brittas laughed. 'Of course they are, Laura. I know they can't all be as good at Sardines as you are, but they'll be here soon enough.'

'No they won't.' Laura shrugged apologetically. 'Julie and a couple of the other girls seem to be having their own party in one of the squash courts, Carole and Linda are playing cards in the aerobics room and Colin rushed off to the bathroom moments after you went to hide, saying something about a new liver cleansing diet that's playing havoc with his insides.'

Brittas frowned for a fraction of a second before his usual smile took over his face once more. 'You've forgotten about Tim and Gavin.'

'They've disappeared.'

'They're probably just off looking for me in another part of the Leisure Centre,' Brittas replied, undeterred. 'Now, get in before someone decides to check the gym.'

Laura opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again without speaking, instead climbing into the cupboard and taking a seat beside Brittas, pulling the doors shut behind her so that they were left in the near-dark, the only threads of light coming through the slight space between the two doors. 'How long are you going to wait here?'

'As long as it takes. I wouldn't set a very good example to the staff if I decided to quit as soon as things got a little boring, now, would I?'

'I don't think anyone would really mind.'

'Whether they minded or not isn't the issue, Laura. *I* would know that I had let them down.'   
'I'm not entirely sure that anyone would see it that way,' Laura persisted. 'I'm sure they'd be glad to get on with opening their presents.'

'Everyone likes presents, but Christmas is about more than socks and handkerchiefs.' Even in the dim light within the cupboard, Laura could see the glint of Brittas's eyes as he spoke, his voice hushed but emphatic all the same. 'Christmas is about fellowship, and about reaching out to the people around you, whether they be your family or your workmates or that homeless man who lives behind the off licence on Union Road.'

'That's true,' Laura said, crossing her legs in an attempt to get a little more comfortable in the cramped space. 'But do you really think that playing Sardines is the best way to achieve that?'

'What better way to get to know each other than to spend a few hours together, shut in an enclosed space?'

Laura attempted to be as tactful as she could. 'I'm not entirely sure that everyone feels the same way about team bonding as you do,' she ventured. 'Perhaps there are other ways of promoting fellowship amongst the staff--like drinks at the pub after work on Fridays or a trivia night in the gymnasium once a month.'

'Ah, but would that sort of thing make any difference, Laura?' Brittas turned to face her, shaking his head slowly, as though amazed that she could be so nave. 'What about the staff members who don't have the confidence to speak up at a trivia night, or the ones who would rather sit at the bar and drink alone than face the challenge of joking around a table with their workmates? Sometimes you have to push a little harder than that to ensure that everybody fits in.

'Take Carole, for instance,' he continued. 'Just think what her life would be like if she didn't have work to keep her occupied and her workmates to led a sympathetic ear when she's down. I don't see *her* calling out the answers to the geography questions at a trivia night, do you? No, she'd probably sit in the corner and pick at the nibblies, and you and I both know that she could do without those extra calories.'

Imagining the situation in her mind, Laura had to admit that Brittas had a point. She genuinely liked the other members of staff, but they weren't a particularly social group of people when it came to getting together for an after work function, whether it be Friday night drinks or someone's birthday. Julie had her endless string of boyfriends to worry about, Carole had her baby and Tim and Gavin had each other. Laura felt quite sure that if she were to consider every member of staff in turn, they would all turn out to have a perfectly valid reason not to take their working relationships any further. For her, that wasn't a problem; she had a close family and a small group of loyal friends. Not everyone could claim such fortune, however. Among the people she saw at work every day, there would be some who would be spending Christmas alone--or as good as alone--and some who would have troubles and despair to go home to every night. Was it really so wrong for Brittas to try to make things a little better for those people, even if he did have a way of going about things in a particularly irritating way?

'You're a good man, Gordon Brittas,' she said finally, unable to find a better way to voice her thoughts.

'There's good in everyone,' he replied, his voice echoing a little in the enclosed space. 'The difficult thing is making sure that everyone can see it. I have a dream, you see, Laura, a dream of a world where everyone recognises their full potential and strives to achieve it, a dream of--'

Laura cut him off. 'Don't ruin it,' she said, pressing a quick but heartfelt kiss to his still-open lips.

As she moved away, Brittas replaced her mouth with his own fingers, looking rather stunned as he touched his lips, as though trying to determine that they were indeed his. 'I'm don't think this is a good idea,' he sad finally. 'I'm a married man and--'

'And an honourable man,' Laura finished for him. 'My point exactly. You don't just worry about your own happiness, or even that of your wife and family. You care about the well being of everyone, even strangers who you'll never so much as meet. And, if you could, you'd make the world a better place for every single person that lives in it. Sure, there are days when you make me want to scream with frustration, but you always *mean* well, and that's what really matters in the end.'

'Well, thank you.' Brittas still sounded a little shell shocked. 'And if it weren't for Helen and the children--'

'I think we should be getting back to the party,' Laura interjected, before he could finish the thought.

'But this *is* the party,' he protested. 'Why, any second someone could throw open these cupboard doors, ready to squeeze in alongside us.'

'Don't you think that it would be easier to build staff relationships if we were all in the same room as each other, rather than distributed about the building?'

Brittas thought for a moment before replying. 'You might just have a point there, Laura,' he said slowly. 'Perhaps we could all gather in the aerobics room next to the toilets, so Colin can join us between attacks.'

'That sounds like a wonderful idea.' Laura smiled at him, sure that it would be conveyed in her voice even if the cupboard was too dark for him to be able to properly make out the expression. 'I'm sure we'll manage to get everyone into the one room if we tell them we'll be opening the presents next.'

Climbing to his feet, Brittas threw open the cupboard doors before turning around to stretch down a hand to help Laura rise. 'And perhaps even a toast, if Julie's left us any champagne.'

* * *

'To friendship!' Brittas held his champagne glass aloft, beaming at the staff members who were clustered around him.

'To friendship,' they all echoed, with a little less enthusiasm.

Julie hiccuped and leaned precariously to one side, as Linda quickly stepped in to prop her up. Gavin plucked a stray mistletoe leaf from Tim's hair, half listening to Colin's lecture on the healing properties of pond scum, while Carole spoke quietly to her babysitter on her mobile phone.

Laura moved to stand at Brittas's side. 'They can't see it now, but it's there underneath,' she said quietly, watching her workmates interact.

'That's the important thing. And tomorrow, if things aren't quite the way they were hoping they would be, then at least they spent Christmas Eve with a group of people who care.'

Raising her glass again, Laura met his eyes and smiled. 'To caring,' she said. 'And to the man who cares more than anyone I've known.'

~fin~

 


End file.
